Book 4 -- SECOND CHANCES

Second Chances! It’s not always a matter of seeking them out. Sometimes they just happen. And when they do, perhaps it makes sense to take advantage of them. Clint and Gary Harris were willing to try. But that was easier said than done.

Though fifty years removed from their last meeting, Claudia Hafner had reasons to doubt Gary's intentions. For Elly Warren it was a different kind of doubt, about her own ability to ever trust again, be it Clint Harris or anyone else. Meanwhile, Tom Berry was nursing his own intentions of renewing a long ago high school connection with Elly. 

At every turn there were Second Chances to be taken. Would any of them lead to what they wanted?

Selected Excerpts from SECOND CHANCES

“Hey brother, looks like it’s that time again,” Clint Harris announced as he returned to the kitchen with the morning mail. He glanced again at the embossed invitation, surveying the pertinent details, before handing it across the table to his brother. Setting the sports page aside, Gary ran his fingers over the raised black letters, then read its brief message.

FIFTY YEARS LATER

The Tanner High School Class of 1955

 invites you to its 50 year reunion

                                  June 25, 2005    Tanner Heights Country Club

 “Just think,” Clint said. “It’s the big five oh. Man, it’s hard to imagine it’s been that long. No wonder I feel so damn old.”

“Yeah,” Gary nodded, looking over the top of his reading glasses. “I know what you mean. And you know it’s going to be a lot different this time. Without Christy and Karen to keep us on track I’m not sure we’ll know how to act.”

~~~

In every way coming home was different than Elly Beyers Warren had expected. She had left Tanner forty six years earlier with no intention of ever returning, beyond an occasional visit with her parents. After they moved, there had never been a reason to return. 

She had met Mike Warren in college. For forty five years they had lived well, thriving in the upscale world of Los Angeles society until, one Sunday morning a year earlier, Mike announced that he was leaving. The new object of his affection was blonde, shapely, and thirty three years old. When the dust finally settled, Elly was comfortably ensconced in the couple’s Palos Verde home, living well on her generous cash settlement.

For months she had done her best to live her normal Los Angeles life, only to learn that those familiar patterns and places were not enough to overcome the lingering resentment. Former friends had chosen sides, too often leaving her on the outside looking in. Finally, just eight weeks earlier, she awoke one morning knowing exactly what she would do. It was time to go home, to Tanner.

~~~

That evening, just up the hill from Elly Warren’s new home, Tom Berry lingered over the remains of his dinner, reveling in his sudden good fortune. The day before, during lunch at the club, Esther Hoffman had anncounced the unexpected good news. Elly Beyers was back in town.

The fates were offering him a second chance, a way past the schoolboy disappointment of losing her once before. Elly would be at the reunion on Saturday night. Surely she had returned for a reason, though she might not know that yet. In the course of twenty four hours, a single day, Tom had convinced himself it was his place to help her accept a future that included them together.